The Best Wine Bars in Virginia Beach

Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant- Virginia Beach

★★★★☆ 4.4 (735) • $$

"We come here all the time for the wine tasting and to pick up our bottles. But this was the first time we'd actually tried the dining area or food. Of course we already love it here. We love the feel of the entire place. We have a favorite wine-tender, a favorite spot for tastings, and lots of favorite wines. Now we have a favorite app too! Our service at the tastings has always been amazing so I knew the dining room wouldn't be any different. Our waitress was top notch and we never waited more than a few minutes for anything. We always do a ton of apps, so we tried a few different things. The drunken shrimp, the Thai lettuce wraps, crispy Brussels sprouts, the meatballs, egg rolls, and tried a side order of Betty's potatoes. Everything was so good! The Brussels and egg rolls I think were my favorite. The potatoes were good, but just had too much topping. Long story short, we'll be eating here again soon."

Oceans & Ale

★★★★☆ 3.9 (858) • $$

"I love a restaurant that takes a reservation! We had an engagement on Thursday evening so we made a reservation to eat before hand.The restaurant was moderately busy and well staffed when we arrived.I had not been to this restaurant before but thought the fresh catch wall was a cool touch and it seemed like a good bar vibe. Our server was attentive and the food was excellent. I enjoyed the steak tacos with asparagus. Good serving size. We ordered the cookie skillet for dessert and it was awesome! Only wish there was more cookie- the cookie was pretty thin and in a smallish skillet."

Second Street American Bistro

★★★★☆ 4.2 (703) • $$

"I promise you this is the perfect tucked away gem the 757. The ambience is always top-tier rather you dining with a group of coworkers, you're wanting to grab a glass of wine or drink at the bar by yourself or have dinner with your family or shoot even a date! It like literally is the perfect setting for any environment. Our waitress was extremely sweet and helpful. She made sure she tended to our table and answered any questions that we may have had.. in the moment she was unsure about certain things she did not hesitate to double check and ask questions! I will always be a fan of street bistro ! Might I add this time of year? Their cinnamon mule is always top-tier"

Eurasia Cafe

★★★★☆ 4.4 (446) • $$

"Had a night without kids and decided on a last minute dinner date with the wife. Loved the appetizers more than the entrees.We ordered a dozen oysters that went quickly. Smaller in size but not too bad. All but one tasted good. Also ordered the chimichurri grilled octopus. The octopus was good but the chimichurri reminded me more on the curry side. Surprised how good the potatoes were with it.I ordered the pork chop and the wife ordered a NY strip. She asked for medium rare and got more medium. Service was ok prompt and didn't need to ask for refills, but nothing special. He grabbed our plates before we could say we were done.Beef carpaccio was good and the egg salad and arugula paired with it was delicious.Place is small but seemed clean and seated immediately even without reservations."

Colington Cafe

★★★★★ 4.5 (414) • $$

"Been coming here for years as part of our annual OBX family trip around Thanksgiving. It's charming and cozy, but they can still accommodate larger parties (we are a group of 7) if you can handle going upstairs, and are ok being up close and personal haha We called a week in advance to have the most flexibility in time and date for a party our size, and they were happy to help us as we needed to adjust a little. Check their website, this time of year I think they only have evening hours, so the phone line doesn't open until later afternoon as well. Everyone here is friendly and the food is delicious! Some of our go-tos are the Crab Bisque, Scallop Rumaki, and Brie appetizers. I always try to get their special that is usually salmon in a light cream sauce, topped with crab and served with asparagus and whipped potatoes of some variety. The salmon is always amazing! This year the special was served with flounder instead. I found it too bland, compared to what I'm used to from them, but perhaps that's just how flounder is?Some other entree regulars in the family are Shrimp & Scallop Napoleon, and the Seafood Pasta. The only catch (pun intended?) is that both are creamy, saucy dishes. Great for taste, but not for having to pick your shrimp. Unfortunately, the kitchen leaves the tails on the shrimp in these dishes, and when we asked about it the kitchen said they do not/would not shell them. Meaning you have to pick your saucy shrimp out and de-tail them yourself. It's a bit messy, especially at a white table cloth establishment, and means you either have to use your bread plate, or you are digging around in your dish and hope you don't slip and send any food flying. If you are looking for fine dining, romantic setting, elevated seafood... Colington Cafe is certainly a delight (aside from the shrimp tails ;))"

TRiO Restaurant & Market

★★★★☆ 4.4 (410) • $$

"We treated my friend to a restaurant of her choice for her birthday and this place was the winner!They don't take reservations for smaller groups, it's a first come first serve basis. We arrived at 5:30pm ish for a party of 3 and we were immediately seated (Saturday in July) .All the staff were very friendly and wished my friend a Happy Birthday! (We had given her a birthday crown & sash. hehe) It was nice of them to kindly acknowledge it, which added to the comfy & welcoming dinner experience! They also willingly took a group photo of us. Some of us ordered the watermelon cooler, which was okay. I didn't find it very flavorful or as refreshing as I had anticipated. A cheese board was ordered & that was tasty. I was highly disappointed that the crab pot pie was sold out! So our server recommended the Blackened Mahi Oscar with crab meat on top. It was delicious! The mahi was cooked perfectly, moist, not dry & not soggy. The crab meat was a decent amount and the dish overall tasted scrumptious! My friend had the crab cake entree and she devoured it! We all went for dessert- the triple chocolate cake, the double chocolate goat cheese cheesecake & the mandarin orange cake. We all respectively enjoyed our choices. The cakes were moist and a decent size. Although the chocolate slice did look a bit bigger than the orange one. The mandarin orange cake was very aromatic! The smell of citrus pleasantly hits you. It wasn't overly sweet and it was refreshing! I'm not a fan of cheesecake but I had a sample of my sister's and it was really good! It's a cozy restaurant that's also a wine & cheese shop. There's a small dining area on the first floor to the right, outdoor seating with a sun sail for shade and more seating up a flight of stairs."

No Frill Bar and Grill

★★★★☆ 4 (491) • $$

"I'm glad I don't live closer because I would come here too much!Our family who lives in Virginia Beach suggested this spot when I said I wanted seafood while at a track meet at the sports center. Boy, they did NOT steer me wrong. This unassuming metal diner-like building could easily be overlooked for the gem inside. We were greeted warmly and seated immediately. Nicole, our server, was the absolute best!I started with a pomegranate lemon drop. I'm not a fan of pomegranate but this cocktail was very tasty. It's a tad tart but that's why I love lemon drops. I chose the seafood trilogy with coleslaw and black bean salsa for my late lunch/early dinner. That had to be the best thing on the menu. The flounder was thick and fried to perfection. The shrimp were huge and also fried perfectly. The crab cake was void of much filler and was great with the best remoulade I think I've ever had. I was taken aback that the salsa was cold initially but the flavor made up for the shock in temperature. The coleslaw was also good. I did not have room to touch the cornbread. I recommend this spot without any hesitation!Pomegranate lemondropSeafood trilogy with coleslaw and black bean and corn salsaNicole"

Le Yaca

★★★★★ 4.5 (374) • $$$

"This is the first I ever had French Food. And it was great. The salad was very sweet and fresh. The main course was chicken with some kind of sauce (don't ask what, no clue) but the combination was delicious. The fried potato slices were very tasty as well. The wait staff were very professional and helpful for a new-by. The ambiance was very pleasant and classy, but not too classy. I walked in wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts and there was no issues.The price was very reasonable, only $38 for the whole meal."

Circa 1918

★★★★★ 4.6 (330) • $$$

"I have no idea what witchcraft they use, but each bite is better than the bite before! It MUST be magic!My friend and I recently had dinner here before an event. We mentioned our plans to our server James, who made sure every timing detail was worked through for us. The first course was a sample of an appetizer from the chef. I immediately asked if the chef was married! Then we ordered a few appetizers so we could sample a good variety of options. The portions were generous, the presentation was flawless, and the layers of flavors were nearly orgasmic! We finished off with dessert. The cheesecake with bananas foster on top was unparalleled. It was the best cheesecake I have ever eaten, bar none. Both my friend and I got goosebumps, our eyes closed, and we couldn't speak because we were overcome by the incredible flavor sensations!The place is tiny - as in miniscule. I made reservations 4 days ahead and the only option was bar seating, so do yourself a favor and plan accordingly. Make your reservation well in advance. The food, service, and atmosphere, are perfect in this well-hidden jewel. I wish the restaurant was 4x larger than it is. They could fill it every night. The prices are a little high but you get what you pay for and I am more than willing to pay for this kind of gastric fantasy.Congratulations to Circa 1918! You've set the bar for fine dining in Newport News!"

The Hard Shell

★★★★☆ 3.8 (389) • $$

"I traveled to Richmond for work and located a seafood place in downtown Richmond. I choose to try The Hard Shell because of the ratings and have to say that overall, I agree! Service was prompt and friendly (shout out to Taylor!) and ambiance nice: good music, nice size bar, a mix of tables and expansive booths as well as outdoor patio searing. The menu is a mix of fish but-as the name suggests-shell fish dominates. They have selections for meat eaters-I started with the BBQ ribs followed by the shrimp pasta; the BBQ rib appetizer was fantastic: highly recommended-fall off the bone tender! Choosing an entree was hard-lots of good choices, but I went with the shrimp pasta-which I have to say was just Ok. Think a blush or vodka sauce as opposed to what seemed a heavy cream sauce would have added the punch I sought. But presentation, serving size, ambiance and value were all there! I had a late evening reservation so didn't linger for dessert but I'll be back when next in town and recommend you do as well!"

456 Fish

★★★★☆ 3.7 (400) • $$

"We went to 456 Fish for happy hour before a show at the Chrysler. Joe was our bartender. He made us feel welcome the second we sat down. He was friendly, attentive, and incredibly efficient. He got the drinks to us so quickly and with a smile. We asked about going outside and he asked the owner to turn on the heat for us. We ordered appetizers, and he took our orders without writing them down, and he was spot on! What a lovely experience! The food was delicious but the service was superb!"

The Green Onion

★★★★☆ 3.5 (365) • $$

"Haven't been here in years so I was glad to come back. Started with crab balls and spinach dip. Both were very tasty. For dinner I had the NY strip rare with the fries. Hubby had the chicken Marsala with mashed potatoes. The strip was slightly overcooked than rare, came out more mid rare or medium. The truffle fries were good. Ashley was our server and she was very friendly and attentive."

Bar Solita

★★★★☆ 3.6 (324) • $$

"went for their Thanksgiving meal. it was great! Delicious food and great service. our waiter consistently checked in on us and always did so with a smile. chill vibe and it was quiet when we went - 12 pm. bathrooms were clean too which I appreciated. thank you bar solita for serving us on this holiday."

Ortega'z Southwestern Grill and Wine Bar

★★★★☆ 3.8 (259) • $$

"Ortega'z - what a GREAT gem! Heard about this restaurant on Guys Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives; and boy, it not disappoint! The pulled pork nachos appetizer was absolutely HUGE and AMAZING! YES, all caps is necessary. We also ordered two entrees - fish tacos and also Buffalo chicken tacos. Both came with 3 tacos, and rice and beans. Everything was so delicious and the portion sizes were great! Great prices for the amount of food you receive. Oh, and the service was great also! Will be returning very soon!"

NAPA Kitchen and Wine

★★★★☆ 3.8 (216) • $$

"I've been to Napa more than a few times at this point but visiting them during the holiday has warranted a yelp review! Man the holiday decorations are absolutely amazing. My bet by decorating that have increased their sales by an exorbitant amount for these holiday months. Everyone is vying for a reservation and wants to be part of the holiday spirit! We actually frequent Napa a good bit for their happy hour deal till 6pm , cheaper sushi, $1 oysters raw/fried, drink specials... love their smoked old fashioned $10. Highly recommend it. At any rate I went to Napa with some girlfriends to experience the holiday decorations and it was just so festive. I got their smoked old fashioned, and the Cacio e Pepe with shrimp and my girlfriends got the Shrimp Scampi Risotto. It was all delicious. We also got a bread basket (focaccia with butter and sun dried tomato). So this is my personal gripe... why are more restaurants moving to pay for bread... like Midlothian's Chef's Kitchen and 1870... bread is so cheap why don't we just get it with out meal lol) Good times regardless!"

The Vineyards

★★★★☆ 3.9 (201) • $$

"Always a reliably good family meal. A lot of their pasta dishes are way too creamy and heavy for me, although delicious, so I usually go with entrees like chicken Marsala or piccata. Their berry cream cake dessert, and the giant frozen lemon full of lemon ice are both longtime favorites of our family! The servers are always polite, they have a decent wine selection, and the house salad dressing is soooooo good!! Wish they would do real sliced bread or garlic bread instead of garlic knots."

Andiamo Ristorante & Pizza Napoletana

★★★★☆ 3.8 (151) • $$

"i've been here several times, very nice place. But it is pretty darn expensive. I mean I'm not a cheapskate but I ordered spaghetti and meatballs and a draft beer and it was $40 with a 20% tip. The food is very good but $34 for three meatballs and a plate of spaghetti is a little high for chesapeake jmo."

Bartizan Events

★★★★☆ 4.3 (73) • $$$

"So I am really struggling with this review. I haven't given a 2 star restaurant review in I don't know how long. The 2 is a mix of the food and ultimately the experience. The reviews have been so great here and I was so looking forward to it. I'm so disappointed. We all were...First off, I would say our waitress was super kind and provided great recommendations. This review was by no fault of her. To be honest, the manager that walked up to us as we were paying last night at the end of our meal asked us how it was and said "why no dessert", and we responded we waited for over two hours for just our food... and were trying to get to our reservation at Hotel Greene that we paid for. He then proceeded on with a joke and said what's wrong with staying at Batizan all night. We were all turned off by it... and he said," why not take dessert to go".... While we didn't say this but when we pay 20... 24... for pasta and 29 for crab cakes we have some expectations of an entree not a small plate and still a little hungry there is a problem.We all had two rounds of drinks... so everyone's drinks were pretty good except for the Blackberry Bramble which I started off with first. It felt like they forgot the alcohol... and tasted like tap water with a few drops of sugar. Not sure what happened there. Then I proceeded with the Pineapple drink which was an improvement. My girlfriend ordered the Margarita twice as she enjoyed it, and her husband and mine enjoyed their drinks. So the whipped feta appetizer... so I loved this... probably my favorite... great combination of a hint of salt, sweet honey and some crunch with the pistachios. I could've eaten tons of their bread in hindsight they offered to refill it twice and we took them on one of the offer should've refilled it twice (Granted, not sure if they charged us for each refill... they should've given more bread to start with). The calamari wasn't any of our favorite (we suggest a change in recipe it was surprisingly bland but as a Kalamata olive lover I was ok grabbing a piece of olive to pair with the calamari so it provided enough salt... also swap the bland bread with the fresh naan like bread with the feta would've been a plus), and not good enough for us to finish... Mind you I think we were all starving because we waited for our meal so long. The time between apps and our entree was probably an hour and 15-20 minutes. I don't even normally say anything but we had 9:30 reservations at Hotel Greene and it was 8:58 for a 7:00 reservation and we still did not get our entrees yet. They kept asking us whether we wanted a third drink but I wanted to say if it's on the house sure... at any rate no apologies for the wait they just had 2-3 people come by to say our food was on the way. I finally got fed up and made a comment to our waitress, We may not have gotten our food if I didn't. Three of us got pasta dishes my husband got the Sausage Fettuccine (while amazing and delicious $20 took him two minutes to scarf down is a problem... probably the smallest fettuccine ever... but hold off, my gnocchi was even more tragic. Two of us ordered the gnocchi... I was literally about to say I didn't order salad to the waitress haha... glad I pulled myself back. There were maybe a max of 7 gnocchi if not less underneath the arugula. $3.80 for a 5 lb bag of potatoes and $1.96 for 5 oz .... No this dish is not worth $24. I actually enjoyed the consistency, more mashed potato style and grilled... not the traditional chewiness... though my husband wondered if they cooked it enough and we were in a rush so I wasn't going to question it. At that point I was just starving and ate it all so quick same with our friend. My girlfriend got the crab cakes and apparently filler was unreal and it did not taste good so she had most of it leftover. My husband and our friend was missing their side carrots and Brussel sprouts... we didn't even remember that until we left ($6 each) but again we were trying to get out and the manager making the comments were a complete annoyance.Just take a look at the pic of the gnocchi it's really jarring... $240+ later with tip... no we don't want dessert and personally we should've been offered something for our wait which we were not. I dislike giving bad reviews because I'm a big supporter of restaurants, but this review was really warranted."

Vintner's Cellar Winery of Yorktown

★★★★☆ 4.2 (71) • $$

"Wine made in-house that tastes absolutely delicious. I would have never known this cute spot was here had me and my friend not walked in to check it out. No regrets!!!We booked a table for a Saturday evening, whilst we were by far the youngest in the restaurant area, everyone was there for the same reason. To taste wines, and decide on what to drink a bottle of with our food over some live music. Our server was delightful; she asked what our favorite style and types of wine were and went on her way to come back with plenty of bottles to try. Now I'm usually a white wine kinda gal, and I like it sweet and fruity - I ended up drinking a bottle of red to myself. It was delicious. Black Majik (Pomegranate & Blackcurrant Zinfandel) & Bear Paw (Black Raspberry & Blueberry). Yes please. The food wasn't too badly priced considering it was fine dining style and all was presented very aesthetically, plus the goat cheese and parmesan polenta was to die for! Sadly, we weren't warned ahead that the creme brûlée was out... This place would be amazing for a bridal shower, or bachelorette, or even a birthday - have a private wine tasting! There's plenty of room! If you haven't stopped by and you enjoy a bit of wine, or feel like creating your own (yes - you can really do that here!) why not pop in?"

The Ghent

★★★★★ 4.5 (52)

"This place is a truly a hidden gem for wings. I go here often now just for take out of the wings. They're always crispy, saucy, and full of flavor. I've had the lemon pepper, the buffalo, and the Korean bbq. The Korean bbq is absolutely fantastic! I love them all, but that Korean bbq is just utterly delicious. Whenever I come inside for take out the service is amazing. Always a smile on their face, and so welcoming. Also, it's very clean inside and seems like they take very good care of everything. I feel so relieved eating from a place that shows they care about the environment. The food has been super consistent, and I believe they'll keep it up. I'm for sure a fan"

Illy Caffe - Williamsburg

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (88) • $$

"Cold brew was great! They had an issue getting the cold brew machine to work but they figured it out. Really liked the sleek look outside and inside. Staff was super friendly. Left off one star for the review because it was missing that coffee shop element of community. I mean if you are a coffee person seeking out new coffee shops all the time you know what I am talking about! That feel you get when the locals walk in and everyone knows them. The feel of family.... This place didn't have that. But coffee was great! The ham and cheese croissant was spot on. It was clean and staff was nice! Would go again."

Serve Restaurant & Taphouse

★★★★☆ 4.4 (49)

"We were pleasantly surprised on our first encounter of this establishment. If you're looking for a lazy Saturday morning brunch (and Fred's is closing at 11am), then look no further. -Try their mimosa flight--it is delicious and only $10. Why not?!-They were out of the crab dip, so we will be trying it next time we come and order garlic knots. But... the beer cheese was EXCELLENT. Normally we run into the dilemma of running out of dip before we run out of a given dippable item. In this case, we were met with a very generous serving that complimented said garlic knots very well. -Fried cheese curds and hush puppies were perfect. -I'd only recommend using kalamata olives (instead of black) in the Mediterranean Salad, even if it means raising the price to accommodate that. Otherwise, I loved that they used a spring mix, which is more nutritious, and it was delicious and pleasing to the eyes. -We were full before we got to our patty melt (with an egg) and packed it up to go--and it was very satisfying hours later after a slight nuke in the microwave. We must've suffered from RBF because the owner asked if we were unhappy with our food since we were taking so much of it home for later. Thank you for being so attentive to your customers!"

Industrial Taphouse West

★★★★☆ 3.5 (33)

"We have really come to enjoy ITW and it has become part of our regular restaurant rotation. We tried them right after they opened and the experience left much to be desired. However, we like the original enough that we decided to stick with the new location and see if they'd up their game. They absolutely have and the food and service are quite good. The prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is casual. It looks like they're adding an outside dining area so we're excited for warmer weather to be able to come and enjoy a meal on their covered patio. If you haven't checked them out yet, you should!"

Bazaaro's Deli

★★★★☆ 4.3 (9)

"Planning a week here in Williamsburg and decided to go to the Outlets on the way in. Looked up places to eat and found this new gem. Open just a few months, but my wife and I enjoyed our lunch very much. She had a Chicken Salad sandwich and I had the Italian Sub. They were both delicious. The women who run the place are really nice and we plan to come back in the future to see how they've grown. Highly recommend for a great lunch when you find yourself here."

PJay's Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.2 (9)

"The food was great they had so many tasty options that my friend and I didn't know what to choose from. I ended up deciding on the shrimp basket with double fries and she tried the Rasta pasta. All I have to say is the food was so good that I'll be recommending it to family and friends. The place is small but the ambiance is nice since they play movies and chill music that makes you forget you're waiting on food lol (wait was about 20 but you wait that long at restaurants so it makes sense lol). The service was awesome, as the guy in charge of the place constantly checked up on us and made sure we were ok and if we needed any help. I'd definitely recommend this as a spot to pick up food. They were all out of mumbo sauce which was a bit of a bummer but I'll hopefully get to try it my next visit."